Chapter 11

Rong Tang sat in the carriage as it headed out of the city. He’d been jostled until his brain was stumped, then he mischievously thought of something.

The system says that it is connected to the consciousness of the mainframe. Most of the access permissions and task rewards are issued by the mainframe. Rong Tang guesses that this so-called mainframe is the minor universe’s Heavenly Law itself.

The Heavenly Law truly dotes on its male protagonist. Even a person like Rong Tang, who carries out missions, has received countless preferential treatments.

Let’s not mention his transmigration-bound “Divine Perspective” cheat. As long as the mission is done well and there is a surplus of system coins, he can check the status of each supporting character anytime and anywhere. Even if the other party is hiding in a concealed room, Rong Tang can listen to what he is plotting with his confidants.

However, this function is ineffective against the main villain. As for Su Huaijing’s behaviour, for two lifetimes, Rong Tang could only speculate based on the storyline of the original plot and the character’s psychology.

Let’s talk about teleportation anchor points. There was a time when Rong Tang had an argument with the system. He was so infuriated that he asked with a sneer, “Are you enabling this function for me so that when someone assassinates the male protagonist, I can teleport directly to block the blade?”

Back then, the system was so choked with frustration that it couldn’t speak.

There is a limit to the number of teleportations, and the purpose of the teleportation must be closely related to the male protagonist. Each teleportation needs to be reported in advance and approved by the mainframe before it can be used. And once the male protagonist encounters any danger, as long as Rong Tang is by his side, he cannot abandon him and flee.

It’s a pity that in his past two lives, from birth to death, Rong Tang had always regarded the male protagonist as a pitiful little boy who needed protection. The thought of leaving had never crossed his mind.

The reason why he thought of this now was because he suddenly realised that if this happened to the male protagonist, he would not need to support this body of his that could die at any time to suffer a bumpy carriage ride all the way while looking aimlessly for someone. All he needed to do was draft a report and spend system coins to check the Second Prince’s movements, narrow the scope, and transport over directly to search. That would be better.

Rong Tang was a little tired from being jostled and didn’t want to open his eyes. When he thought of this, he felt a bit like having fun in the midst of suffering. He actually made suggestions to the system: “I’ll be honest, why don’t you ask the Heavenly Law if it chose the wrong male protagonist? How could he fail twice after giving him so many cheats?”

In the past, Rong Tang would have suspected his own negligence and incompetence. Right now, Rong Tang is convinced that the male protagonist is garbage.

He obviously has many advantages over Su Huaijing, but he just can’t beat him.

Ai, don’t you think it’s vexing?

Rong Tang smiled, but the system didn’t reply. After a while, Shuang Fu’s voice sounded from outside the carriage: “Young Master, there is someone blocking the front of the carriage.”

Rong Tang opened his eyes and waited for a while before asking, “What kind of person is that, and what’s happening?”

When Shuang Fu heard and was about to respond, a child’s crying voice came from ahead: “Great Master, great noble sir! I beg you to save my gege! He’s sick and dying!”

The voice was so childish and pitiful that Rong Tang didn’t have time to think. He drew open the carriage curtain and lowered himself before stepping out.

At the moment, they’d already reached the outskirts of the capital. It is sparsely populated. There are only a few pedestrians and carriages passing by on the official road for as far as the eye can see. Since the purpose of this trip is to locate someone, Rong Tang asked Shuang Fu to hasten to a place that was inaccessible but had scattered houses and farmland. With the palace guards following behind, there was no need to worry about anything going wrong.

They are currently in a wild mountain forest. The little boy blocking the carriage is about eight- or nine-years-old. His clothes are too small and patched. His exposed wrists bear the scars from stone and bamboo scratches. He knelt on the ground, crying and kowtowing as he continued to say, “Great noble sir, please save my gege”.

Rong Tang frowned slightly, then walked slowly towards him. He bent down and helped him up: “Speak slowly; don’t hurry; what happened to your gege?”

He wanted to use his handkerchief to wipe the child’s face, but then he remembered that he often covers his mouth with it when he coughs and feared that the germs might pass to the child. Thus, he folded his sleeves and gently wiped away the filthy dust from his face.

The child was quite delicate and good-looking, with particularly big eyes. They looked like a pair of apricot seeds when he cried. When he caught sight of his movements, he glanced up at this great, kind gege in confusion.

He’d been out for several days and had stopped many carriages. The lords and ladies inside either ignored him or had sent people to drive him away. Some even asked people to beat him, so he dodged and hid. By today, he would’ve finished all the dry food he had with him. He thought that if he couldn’t find anyone to help him, he would have to go to the city to steal money and get a doctor to treat the illness.

Gege didn’t allow him to go into the city alone, but he was seriously injured and had been lying in bed for several days. He’d followed his gege’s seal for contacting people and had drawn a few on the way, but in the end, no one came back.

He didn’t know what everyone was doing or why they hadn’t gone home for so long. He only knew gege was dying.

When he thought of this, the child’s nose throbbed, and big tears began flowing, plopping onto Rong Tang one by one, soaking a large part of his sleeve.

Rong Tang frowned and bent his body, intending to pick up the child. Then he realised that his body would shake even if he held a pot of tea. He had no choice but to coax in a gentle voice, “Please show me the way and take me to your gege.”

The child couldn’t even make any sound as he cried; his face was flushed and dirty. He stared wide-eyed at Rong Tang. “Really?”

“Really.” Rong Tang smiled, his eyes forming a pair of crescent moons. “I have a lot of money, and I can help your gege find a doctor.”

The child was stunned for two or three seconds, then knelt down and kowtowed to Rong Tang with a ‘bang’: “Thank you, the great kind sir!”

Rong Tang was so startled by him that he took a half-step back and coughed for a long time. Shuang Fu hurried over and helped the two of them into the carriage, then drove off following the route pointed out by the child.

Rong Tang coughed for a while in the carriage before gradually recovering. He then noticed that the child was eyeing him most curiously.

“Are you… dying?” the kid asked timidly.

Rong Tang was delighted. He didn’t discern any malice in these words. Just the opposite—the child’s gaze was pure. What he recognised was the anxiousness that the other party was completely unaware of.

It was likely due to the matter of his gege dying that he reacted so substantially to him. Therefore, he seemed to be terrified that someone would display a weak and pitiful appearance before him.

Rong Tang brushed his hair with his hand. Then he turned to the side, dug around in the hidden compartment of the carriage, and found a pack of candied fruits.

He drinks medicine throughout the year. As such, Shuang Fu and Shuang Shou regularly replenish fresh candied fruit in every room within his courtyard and every carriage he rides in.

To be honest, Rong Tang isn’t that fond of sweets. He only sporadically takes one out to quell his throat when the bitterness becomes unbearable. This time, it was perfect to give the child as food.

“I won’t die yet.” Rong Tang smiled and handed over the candied fruit. “What’s your name?”

“Xiao Zhu*…” the other party said. His eyes fixed on the package of sweet candied fruits for a long time, not daring to touch them, but he was so greedy that he very nearly drooled. Rong Tang laughed and pushed it over to him. “Hurry, take it. Earlier, you scared me until I coughed. I don’t have the strength to hold it.”

(*TN: zhu = bamboo)

Xiao Zhu then hurriedly clutched the candied fruit in his arms and looked at Rong Tang worriedly.

Rong Tang didn’t say anything. He leaned back and fell asleep in the carriage. “Show the gege outside the way. Call me when we arrive.”

Xiao Zhu responded “yes” in a daze but sat there silently for a long time. Once he confirmed that Rong Tang truly had no intention of opening his eyes, he deftly and silently fished out a candied fruit from the bag like a kitten and stuffed it in his mouth. As he moved, his cuffs slid down, and a black dagger handle was exposed for an instant.

[Host, you saved a little thief.]

“I know.” Rong Tang replied, his mood still cheerful. He’d spotted it earlier when he got out of the carriage. Not only did the kid have a knife hidden in his sleeve, but he probably also had a sharp knife tied to his calf, yet he still brought him in.

The system asked: [Why?]

Rong Tang: “How can there be children wandering alone in the wilderness? Even if there are, they’re likely lost children from nearby villages. How can they be so wary that they carry two daggers on their person?”

The system analysed: [Adults taught him to… or it could be related to the adults’ profession.]

Rong Tang smiled: “I’m quite lucky, aren’t I?”

What the Eldest Princess said is quite right: when you do good deeds, don’t worry about your future.

Although it was doubtful in the beginning, when he heard Xiao Zhu crying so miserably, Rong Tang was prepared to help him. It wasn’t until he got out of the carriage and observed that he realised this might be the person he was looking for.

“The adopted son of the Embroidered Guard’s First Squadron’s leader and the homeless orphans he adopted”, on the outskirts of the capital.

These two key pieces of information are right in front of him, practically pointing directly at Xiao Zhu’s identity. Now he just hopes that the gege he speaks of can still be saved…

It wasn’t long before they arrived at their destination. Rong Tang got out of the carriage and took a look. He then realised why Shuang Fu couldn’t find anyone after wandering in the woods for so long.

In front is a courtyard, hidden in the bamboo forest. The entire facade is comprised of two colours: dark green and light yellow. At first glance, any approaching strangers would not be able to spot the entrance at all.

There aren’t many houses, but the spacing in each room is large. The bed is a large communal sleeping platform. There are quincuncial stakes placed in the yard and a few free-range chickens scampering in front of the door. Behind the house is a thriving vegetable garden.

A little boy holding a bowl to feed the chickens is at the door. He looks to be about six- or seven-years-old and is younger than Xiao Zhu. He has two little buns of hair on his head. When he saw that his companion had returned, he immediately rushed over and asked frantically, “You’ve found a doctor?”

“No, but I found a great kind-hearted gege!” Xiao Zhu replied.

Thus, the little lad took one look at Rong Tang and immediately went to kneel and kowtow. Rong Tang managed to stop him this time. He didn’t know if he should laugh or cry and said, “Take me in to see your gege.”

There was a small crucible in the corner of the courtyard. Simmering inside it was a dark-looking Chinese medicine of unknown ingredients. Rong Tang followed the two children into the house and saw a person lying on the bed.

The weather in the second month could only be considered the beginning of spring and was pleasantly cool. The other party’s lips were ashen, and his head was covered with sweat. The quilt wasn’t thick enough, so several pieces of clothing had been piled on top in an attempt to increase the heat for him.

Rong Tang estimates that the young man is about twenty-seven- or twenty-eight-years-old, so he is about the same age.

He frowned, but before he could say anything, the man suddenly woke up, coughed twice, and asked hoarsely, “Xiao Zhu… you’re back?”

Just as he finished speaking, he seemed to have noticed something was amiss. Once he opened his eyes, an unstoppable sharp, dazzling gleam shoot out. Before Rong Tang had time to move, a flash of silver light flew out from the bed and headed straight at his neck.

The crisis alarm sounded right away, and Rong Tang instinctively took a half-step to the side. The blade streaked across his neck, drawing a line of blood.

He was in pain, but before he could speak, another blade flew out.

Rong Tang was shocked, and he promptly stretched out his hand to block it. A bamboo leaf flew in from the direction of the door and collided with the blade with a rustling sound, changing the direction of the blade tip.

Rong Tang immediately moved away from the bed to avoid being attacked again. He glanced back absentmindedly at the person standing at the door.

Black outfit, pale-faced, two butterfly knives at the waist.

[Old acquaintances meet, host.] The system said coolly.

Rong Tang has seen this person before. Liuyun, the person who poisoned him in his first life.

One of Su Huaijing’s confidants.